L&T Publisher Earl Watt
Resignations from the Seward County Commission and the Liberal City Commission in the pst few months have led to a larger-than-normal response for candidates, and that’s a good thing.
When three Seward County Commissioner resigned at the same time, leaving the commission without a quorum, 13 candidates put their names forward to fill the remaining year on the unexpired terms.
Ultimately, Jairo Vazquez, John Mettlen and Clay Louderback were selected, but having contested races in all three districts said something about the public interest in serving.
Liberal City Commissioner Matt Landry was re-elected in November 2025 but took a new job near Kansas City recently, which opened up his seat.
The City of Liberal made public announcements about the opening, and nine candidates have signed up for the seat.
The candidates include Kathleen Alonso, Jeffrey Hall, Kelsey Kronawitter, Amy Lujan, Nathan McCaffrey, Jeff Mitchell, Edgar Ortuño, Bee Symons and Eric Volden.
The process to fill the city’s vacancy is much different than that of the county.
Since the county is divided into districts and elected after partisan primaries, the party of the person resigning selected the replacement by means of precinct committee men and women. A “convention is called of the precinct representatives, and they listen to candidates form their district and cast a vote for the replacement. Should a candidate not receive a majority of votes, the candidates with the least amount of votes are eliminated until such time as a candidate earns a majority of votes.
The city commission model is different. City elections are called “at large” elections, meaning there are no districts and no party connection. When an opening occurs on the Liberal City Commission, the remaining commissioners select a replacement by majority vote.
That means of the nine candidates, the one who receives three or more votes will fill the slot. The Liberal City Commission has 60 days to fill the opening, but if they cannot reach a majority vote, then the commission must call a public vote within 45 days.
No mater what happens, having 22 candidates willing to step up to fill these recent vacancies is a good sign for public engagement.
The people want to be involved.
Take a look back at the Liberal City Commission general election a year ago, and there were no challengers to the three incumbents. That says something about the public’s level of trust with the commission. And only because there was an opening did nine candidates emerge.
The jury is still out on the Seward County Commission on whether or not the public is satisfied with its direction. Candidates have until June to sign up for the August primary.
But with the long list of names that have emerged for the openings, it might not be a surprise to see several on the ballot for the three seats that will be up in November.
Having candidates is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Only by having choices can the public’s will be determined by the positions taken by the candidates.
Elections provide campaign opportunities, debates and forums where the people can learn just how any specific candidate will serve, and the number of candidates who have been willing to serve by appointment may be an indicator of what we can expect.
It’s important for the public to ask good questions that give the candidates a chance to separate themselves from the field. Generic answers and platitudes won’t tell us what we need to know. As always, if you want to make a difference, be a candidate — and vote.
